Final Fantasy 9  The Novel
by Mistress Of The Shadow
Summary: The Story of Final Fantasy Nine in novel form. Chapter 1 is now up.
1. Chapter 1

Hello all. I write this because all stories need to be told, but not all can be seen for themselves.

Enjoy.

Mistress Of The Shadows

Disclaimer: I own only the way the story is worded, everything else is not any idea by me. I am simply a story teller.

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Final Fantasy 9

The Novel

Prologue

There are times, there are ages, and there are worlds. I now bring you to a time of mist, of monsters, of alternate worlds, and of a new fascinating and wonderful adventure. Our story begins a long time ago, when a small ship is caught in a terrible storm. Two hooded passengers, their faces wet, look out over the water and hold on tight to the boat, hoping to survive the raging sea. The sea whips them around and it seems there is no hope for the little boat's passengers. If they live or not, well that, my children, is a mystery.

Many, many years later, a princess wakes from a troubled nap. She is beautiful, with raven hair, and light brown eyes. She is said to be the most beautiful of all the people in the land, but the quietest, the most troubled. She wipes her eyes, hoping to erase the signs of drowsiness, and looks to the window.

It is a beautiful day out, and the princess rises to look outside. She pushes the window open, thus sending the birds perched there out into the sky. She has awoken just in time to watch the grand theatre ship, the Tantalus, sailing gracefully on the mist, come into its perch near the castle. She hopes the play they perform will lift her spirits.


	2. Chapter 2

And here is my second instalment. Goodness, it took awhile to take that from paper and put it on computer. My hand hurts a little.

Disclaimer: As before, I own only the way the story is worded, everything else is not any idea by me. I am simply a story teller.

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Review Replies:

**aaronk925**** – **I thank you for your review. Here is the new chapter. Sorry it took me so long to post, but it's a little lengthy, and took a minor bit of time to write. Enjoy!

The Mistress of the Shadows

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Final Fantasy 9

The Novel

Chapter 1 - Alexandria

-Meet Zidane-

A boy with a tail slides down a pole in the depths of the theatre ship. He slightly resembles a monkey, and has his blond hair tied out of his face, to better accent his blue eyes. He scratches his back as he walks the dimly lit corridor to the door on his right. He opens and enters the door, and looks about himself.

"Sure is dark," he says, "Guess nobody's here yet."

He walks forward to a lantern on the table. He lights it with a match from the lantern base, and watches as it lights the room. He jumps a little as someone calls out from the next room.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Zidane!" He calls back.

Three people come out of the room. The one who spoke, a man named Blank, was very thin with red hair. No one knew his eye color, for he has never shown his eyes to the world. The next, a portly man named Cinna, was an ugly man with a beard, but had a good heart to make up for it. He held in his grasp a small hammer. Finally, a muscular man with a bandana who held a sword took up the end. His name was Marcus.

"Hey, Zidane!" Blank says, obviously happy to see him. "You sure are late!"

"Sorry. So, where's the boss?"

"Ain't here yet." Answers Cinna.

A door opens behind Zidane and all four men look up to see a dragon with a man's body jump down to their level. Obviously bothered, all four attack it with as much force as they could muster, and eventually, Zidane splits the dragon's head in half, revealing an older, bearded man. He grabs his head in agony.

"Oh, my head! Go easy, you guys!"

The four men are exhausted, breathing heavily from the difficulty of the fight. They nod to the man, who is the boss, a man called Baku.

"Hey, fools! You're lookin' a lot better!" Baku laughs while holding his stomach. "Alright! Let's start this meeting already!"

They go into the next room, where Blank, Cinna and Marcus were originally, and grab a chair. Getting comfortable, they put their attention on Baku, who stands importantly at the front.

"Here's the plan!" Baku starts, "Tantalus, the infamous band of daring thieves (that's us) is headin' to the Kingdom of Alexandria. Our mission, to kidnap the heir to the throne, Princess Garnet!"

"I'll take it from here, so listen up!" Cinna intervenes, "Our ship's about to dock at Alexandria. And when it does, we're gonna put on our costumes and perform 'I Want To Be Your Canary,' the most popular play in Alexandria! Break a leg, Marcus! 'Cause you're playin' the lead!"

Marcus stands, always the proud actor.

"Leave the actin' to me! Of course, the real kidnappers'll be Blank and Zidane!"

Blank interrupts, holding a little yellow bug with wings.

"I'll distract the audience from backstage with these little buggers. I can't stand oglops, but I'll manage, so don't worry about me. And that'll be your cue, Zidane!" He pops the oglop back in his sac.

"Okay!" Zidane says with much enthusiasm, "That's when I kidnap Princess Garnet, right?"

"You bet!" Baku answers, "You're gonna kidnap the most babe-ilicious beauty in all of Alexandria, Princess Garnet!"

And the men close their discussion with much excited extra planning.

-Poor Vivi-

As the ship, called Tantalus, sails over Alexandria, a small boy, about the age of 9, in a pointy hat looks up and watches in awe and wonder. As he watches it dock at the castle, another boy trips him, causing him to fall flat on his face, and also causes a ticket to come floating out of his pocket. A little girl rushes forward and helps him to his feet, staring up at the black face and bright white eyes. The face of a black mage.

"Are you awright? Here!" She picks up the ticket for him, "You dwopped your ticket. Bye-bye!" With that, the little girl rushes back to her house.

The boy runs along, still taking in the sights of the big city, when he is, again, bumped in the shoulder. A young rat now faces him, fuming slightly.

"Ow! Why you… get outta my way!!!" And off the rat rushes again.

The boy is a little troubled now, but hurries on further into the city. He passes a bunch of nobles, at the head of which is a herald, trumpeting loudly. The boy presses forward, and finally comes to a ticket booth in the middle of a town square. He looks into the ticket booth to find a ticket master, who looks at him warmly.

"Can I help you, son?" the ticket master asks.

The boy shuffles nervously and eventually hands the ticket master his ticket. The ticket master studies it carefully.

"What's this? There's something odd about this ticket... Why, it's another fake! I've seen so many today."

The boy drops his head in sadness, shedding a small tear.

"Now, now." The ticket master smiles down at him. "Don't cry. I know how you must feel. Here, I'll give you these. Do try to cheer up now, hmm?" He hands the boy three cards. "Talk to Alleyway Jack to learn more about Cards. Good luck, lad!"

The boy, still a little heart broken about being sold a fake ticket, rushes off to an alley just off to his left, seeing if maybe he could find this Alleyway Jack. Upon arriving, he trips, and a sign maker named Dante misses his nail and his sign falls.

"Blast it! Hey! You made me miss, you little klutz!" He replaces the sign and fixes his error. "Whew. That should do it. Well, it's been a long day." Dante picks his things up, and waddles back out of the alley, whistling as he goes.

It is just then that the young rat enters the alley, looking around him. He notices our black mage, and recognizes him immediately.

"Hey, you! Shrimp!" He says with much dignity, "You're the one with the phony ticket, ain'tcha? I saw the guy tell you it was a fake!"

"Y-Yeah, it's fake." The boy stutters.

"I'll let you see the show if you become my slave! Well, whaddya say?"

"Alright" The boy says without hesitation. Being this little rat's slave for a little while couldn't be half bad if he got to see the show.

"Awesome! Now for your first assignment! You go stand over there and see if anyone's comin'!" Both boys look out the opposite ends of the alley carefully, "All clear?"

"Yeah, it's clear."

"Awesome! Engage according to mission parameters!" The young rat runs over and steals the ladder Dante the Signmaker was using and runs further into the alley. The boy runs to follow him. The alley opens up into a small, river-front residential area, with an old steeple near the end of the walkway.

"Over here!" The young rat calls behind him, "Don't fall behind! Into the steeple!" They both rush into the steeple. "Now we're gonna climb up this tower!" He motions to a ladder. "It's very dangerous. You go first."

The boy nervously walks forward to the ladder, and is about to climb up when a small white animal with pink wings and a red ball on its head lands on top of him. They fall to the ground with a thud.

"Oww!" The boy shouts.

The young rat, who wasn't paying attention at the time, yelled "What the heck was that!?" and rushed over to investigate.

The animal looks sheepish. "Sorry 'bout that, kupo!" He says.

The young rat rolls his eyes, "That's Kupo. He's a moogle." The moogle nods enthusiastically. "And this is slave number one! Try to get along, okay?" He lets the two get acquainted and then turns to the ladder.

"Alright, time for some upward mobility!" The rat turns Dante's ladder sideways, holding it with one hand, and with the other, climbs up the ladder. "Okay, come on up, slave!"

Our boy is about to follow when Kupo jumps excitedly. Another moogle entered the steeple, looking fully prepared for a long journey. He can barely see over his little travelling hat.

"Kupo...? You here?" He calls.

Kupo flies over to him. "Stiltzken! Why the getup? You leaving, kupo?"

"Yeah, and this time I might be away for a long time."

Kupo gived his friend a little hug. "I'll miss you, kupo!"

"Now don't you worry. I'll write."

"Okay, kupo!"

"Well, I'm off. Take care! Oh, and say hi to Mosh in the castle for me." And out of the steeple he goes.

"Was that a friend of yours?" The boy asks as he watches Stiltzken waddle away.

"Yes, kupo. A very special one, kupo!" Kupo answers as he waves good-bye to his friend's back.

From up above, the young rat calls out, "Hey, slave! I thought I ordered you up here!"

The boy sighs, and climbs up the rickety stairs to the top of the steeple. When he gets to the top, the slightly annoyed rat starts to hop onto a different roof top.

"Alright," He calls behind him, "The play's gonna start if we don't hurry!"

They hurry across many roof tops, hopping from eave to eave, and holding onto chimneys for balance. The rat runs down one roof to a plank connecting to houses. He scrambles across and the turns to wait for the other boy. The boy pauses, looking down at the distance between it and the ground, and then to the boy on the other side.

"Come on! Get over here!" The rat shouts, jumping up and down on the spot with his ladder. He pauses, looking at the boy's face. "Lemme guess... You're afraid of heights, aren't you? It's okay! Just pretend you're on the ground! Come on, already! We're runnin' outta time!"

The boy, thinking this can't be safe, gets on his hands and knees and slowly makes his way over. When he gets to the other side, the rat rushes off again and so does the boy, though now a bit shaken. They come to another plank. The rat rushes across, and then calls to the other boy.

"Not again... Don't worry! It won't fall!"

The boy crosses as before, on hands and knees, and is just getting on the other side when the plank flips and falls. The boys heart pounds as he realizes he just made it across. He looks up to the rat.

The rat laughs. "I guess it fell. No point in worrying now, right?"

And off they run again. After a few houses, the rat stops and turns to look at him.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I don't even know your name!"

"My name's Vivi." The boy mutters.

"Vivi, huh?" The rat shrugs. "Kinda funny name... My name's Puck! Pleased to meetcha!"

They hurry along until they get to a chunk of palace wall that's being repaired. Scaffolding line's the wall. There's no plank for this chunk, however. Puck, finally having a use for the ladder, plunks it down in between the house and scaffolding.

"Whew..." Puck says, "We finally made it! After this wall, we'll be inside the castle! C'mon, let's go!"

They head inside, finding a place to stand behind all the well dressed nobles. They clap as the Tantalus's band strikes up and start to play. The excited Queen, above in her balcony, claps as well, flicking her fan in her face. Her daughter sits beside her. The princess, barely acknowledging anything, looks sad. A knight behind them starts to worry at her misery. Why is the princess unhappy at her birthday present?

-I Want To Be Your Canary-

Baku, dressed as a king, walks onto the stage and bows.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Tonight's performance is a story that takes place long, long ago. Our heroine, Princess Cornelia, is torn from her lover, Marcus. She attempts to flee the castle, only to be captured by her father, King Leo. When our story begins, Marcus, having heard of this, crosses swords with the king. And now, Your Royal Majesty, Queen Brahne, Your Highness, Princess Garnet... noble ladies and lords, and our rooftop viewers, Tantalus proudly presents 'I Want to Be Your Canary'!"

There is much more clapping as Marcus takes the stage, as well as two men dressed up as lackeys for the 'King.' In the back of the theatre, Zidane, Cinna, and Blank discuss Marcus's position.

"Bereft of father! Bereft of mother!" Blank begins. "Marcus! Thou has lost even thy love!"

Cinna then speaks, "Fortune hath escap'd thee! For what end shalt thou live?"

"For the sake of our friend..." Zidane continues, "Let us bury our steel in the heart of the wretched King Leo!"

The two others shout their approval, and hurry to join Marcus on-stage.

"We shall back thee, kinsman!" Blank unsheathes his sword.

Marcus shakes his head, putting a hand up as a signal for stop. "Pray, sheathe thy swords! This villain is mine alone!"

Cinna shakes his head furiously, wielding his hammer. "Nay, kinsman! For I, too, have lost a brother to this fiend!"

"What ho?" The King sneers at them. "Out, vermin! Away! Thou darest bare thy sword before the king!? All who stand in my way will be crush'd!"

"Treaherous Leo," Zidane spits back at him. "My kinsman's suffering shall not be in vain! For I shall instruct thee in his incomparable pain!"

A battle begins, Cinna and Marcus taking one lackey, Zidane another, while Marcus fights the King himself. The lackeys are defeated easily, and they die on the spot. The others turn to watch Marcus wound the King, who stumbles away in pain.

The king, his breathing heavy, growls at them, "Thou hast not seen the last of me, Marcus!" and heaves himself up the staircase to his castle. Zidane hurries to follow, but Blank runs to intercept him.

"Out of the way, Blank!" He shouts.

"Consider this, Zidane!" Blank urges him. "If Prince Schnieder were to marry Princess Cornelia, peace would reign over both their kingdoms!"

"'Tis foolishness! If all were so easy, why, none would suffer in this world!"

They battle, Zidane forcing Blank up the stairs, pressing onward. Blank, seeing his aim, jumps off the wall, and off stage, forcing Zidane to follow him. They end up in front of the nobles and royalty, near an entrance to the castle. They stop to battle.

"En guard!" Blank calls.

"Expect no quarter from me!" Zidane answers.

They duel, parrying, thrusting, even back flipping, to make the fight as much as a show they can muster. They move fluidly and quickly, a fight born from countless hours of practicing. They suddenly stop after Zidane takes the first 'blood'.

Blank then looks down at his cut, feigning surprise.

"We shall finish this later!" He sneers at Zidane, running off.

"Come back here!" Zidane shouts as they are showered with gil.


End file.
